Cannabis clubs in Catalonia will face stricter regulations from Thursday with the region's parliamentary health commission set to raise the minimum age for membership from 18 to 21 while prohibiting new clubs from opening near schools and nurseries.

To that end, they will ban posters encouraging the use of cannabis and instead insist on information panels that explain the associated health risks, according to Spanish daily Publico.

The original draft included regulations proposed by the clubs regarding the growth and transport of marijuana but a number of differences of opinion between cannabis associations and officials could not be resolved, resulting in the health-based regulations due to be passed on Thursday.

Dealing in cannabis is illegal in Spain but the law does not prohibit growing it for private consumption. It also allows the existence of smokers' associations or cannabis clubs.

Club members pay an annual subscription fee plus a variable fee to cover the cost of producing the cannabis they consume.

A cannabis club is legal as long as it controls consumption and refrains from advertising and distributing the drug for profit.

Smokers' groups say some 700 such associations have sprung up in Spain due to a legal loophole.

Some clubs are suspected of stepping over the line, however, venturing beyond their non-profit association activities into full-blown drug-dealing.

Half of Spain's cannabis clubs are in Barcelona, which tops the rankings on WeBeHigh, a travel advice website for soft drug users, beating Amsterdam.